Hamzah Henshaw

I help Muslim teenagers get into their dream colleges and equip them for success in this world and the next.

[Sheel Mohnot @pitdesi]

College reputation seems almost impossible to change, but Vanderbilt has done it.

In 2005, Vanderbilt admitted 34% of applicants, and its middle 50% SAT range was 1280–1460. Today, it admits under 5%, with a middle 50% SAT range of 1510–1560.

They are opening a San Francisco campus for 1000 full-time students next year, and Jensen Huang just donated $75M to the campus

They moved from being compared mainly with the likes of Emory and Georgetown to competing directly for students with Northwestern and Duke.

Very smart how they did it, definitely some lessons that apply broadly:

• They recruited aggressively at Northeastern prep schools and top high schools nationwide... the chancellor would visit the schools that sent the most students to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown and Penn (ALWAYS GET ON THE PLANE!)
• Built relationships with influential college counselors, so Vanderbilt would appear on the same recommended lists as the Ivies and Duke
• Specifically decided to attract Jews (the chancellor decided that Jewish students would strengthen the university’s intellectual life) by building out more Jewish life (Hillel center, kosher dining, Jewish studies program)... and it also helped shed the image of a traditional, insular Southern school dominated by white Christian fraternities
• Used generous need-based aid and merit scholarships to win students from more prestigious schools
• Sold a distinctive product: elite academics, SEC sports, a strong social scene and a real campus experience
• Turned Nashville from a perceived drawback into a major recruiting advantage as the city became more attractive

Other universities that I think have done a good job in recent decades are Northeastern and USC. Before that NYU and Duke.

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

You are not who you were.

You are who you’re becoming.

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

If you walk like a duck and quack like a duck…

…then quack!

Our bold, messy, magnificent selves are hiding behind masks—pretending to be swans.

Stop waiting for permission to be who Allah made you to be.

Find your flock. Then fly.

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

Great advice for young and old alike.

One of the best parts of going to college is the ability to reinvent yourself.

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

“People waste years of their lives, not being willing to waste hours of their lives.” Michael Lewis

#ProductiveProcrastination #ProductiveLaziness

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

“If you can spend 8 hours building someone else's dreams, you can spend 1 hour building your own.” -Dan Koe

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

Navigating High School as a Muslim: How to Become a Beacon of Noor https://t.co/zGcs41aY5k

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

The 21 words I have been looking for all my life:

Now I Become Myself

Now I become myself. It's taken

Time, many years and places;

I have been dissolved and shaken,

Worn other people's faces.

-May Sarton

https://t.co/vSwcaMI3zx

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

"If we can’t work smarter, we resort to working harder. We cut out lunch, skip the gym, and run from one meeting to another so we can fit more in. Being busy seems to matter more than getting stuff done."
— Much of What You’re Going to Do or Say Today is Not Essential

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

What You Can Learn from the Explosive Success of my Recent Course Launch https://t.co/yxzA4dwa0t

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

"It's never the right time, but right now is usually the best time."

-@JamesClear

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

“Someone with half your IQ is making 10x as you because they aren't smart enough to doubt themselves.” – Ed Latimore

The older I get, the more I think "intelligence" can be a curse.

Being a 4.0 student and being a perfectionist go hand in hand.

Analysis paralysis kills dreams.

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

How to Take Advantage of Your Youth Before Your Old Age https://t.co/NqRjNbNQMi

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

Winning without luck requires doing ordinary things for an extraordinary amount of time.

-Farnham Street

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

Too much uncertainty is chaos.

But too little is death.

-Boyd Varty, The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

Part of waking yourself is not the call itself, but the desire to hear the call.

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

Patience is a virtue that has largely eluded me.

The ayah below has always been a source of comfort and guidance.

So have these two quotes:

1. “It’s ok to move quickly, but not to be in a rush.” -John Wooden

2. “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” -Navy Seals

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

Shura in Silicon Valley? How tech giants are outpacing us with our own principles https://t.co/EDbn1WXqW0

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

Want Success? This Ancient Practice Is Your Modern Superpower https://t.co/zJpAiPc99h

[Hamzah Henshaw @MabeChai]

"If you feel resistance before you begin, it's usually procrastination and you need to get started.

If you feel resistance after you begin, it's usually feedback and you need to make adjustments."

-@JamesClear